Asheville lobbying to keep water system

9:23 PM,
Feb. 9, 2013

Chuck McGrady

Written by

City officials have hired lobbyists, enlisted the aid of N.C. League of Municipalities and gotten support from 40 local governments statewide in their fight to keep control of Asheville's water system.

But it's anyone's guess whether that will matter much to the Republican-controlled General Assembly, which is engaged in disputes with cities and towns on a range of issues - from control over airports to decisions on land use.

"Now that the city has taken this so externally, I don't frankly feel any need to talk to city officials," said Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson. ...